When a young dog dubbed "Drifter," was first discovered by reservation police earlier this summer, he was in great pain from an seemingly innocuous item which had been placed around his neck when he was a puppy.

Medical Animals In Need (MAIN)

When Drifter was a young pup, someone had put a rubber hairband around his neck and as he grew, the band stretched and then began to dig deep into his skin. By the time that Drifter was found, his ear was dangling and his neck was sliced open.

The police took Drifter to a county animal shelter in Arizona - his rescuers, Medical Animals In Need (MAIN), describe what the veterinarian discovered:

The clinic staff sedated him, shaved him down…and found something horrific. A neck tie, embedded around his neck and up over his ear! This is the rubber band type of tie you use to make a pony tail!

They speculate that someone put this on him as a puppy….those bands only stretch so far. Drifter is estimated at one to two years old, which means this tie has been growing into his neck ever since it was placed there, possibly years ago.

The organization described how the ear was wounded:

He scratched and dug at it enough to get it up over one ear but couldn’t get it off, so it sliced half-way through his right ear, leaving the ear dangling. The wound on his neck goes very deep and in person, you can see tendons.

Surgery was required to repair the damage that Drifter's body suffered and today, he is finally ready for someone to formally adopt him.

Note: Adoption fee is $150 and includes neuter, microchip, shots up to date and county license. Find MAIN on Facebook at this link.

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